


Cold Water, I'm Underwater

by captain_ariel_barnes



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Gen, Steve Rogers Has PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 06:10:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17401508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captain_ariel_barnes/pseuds/captain_ariel_barnes
Summary: Steve has always hated the cold, and the reader finds out just how much.





	Cold Water, I'm Underwater

It was a tough mission, minor injuries all around. Steve was taking it the hardest.

All he wanted was a hot shower to burn away the stress. He wanted to crank the water up so far his skin would be bright red when he got out and the bathroom so thick with steam he couldn’t see in front of him.

What he got as he stood under the faucet and turned the handle, was a blast of water that was searing cold.

Everything fell apart after that.

* * *

“Hey Sam, have you seen Steve? We were supposed to have a movie night.” (Y/N) asks.

“Looking for your boyfriend, hm?”

“He is  _not_  my boyfriend!”

“Whatever. Why don’t you just text him and ask him where he is?”

“I did…he didn’t answer.”

“Check his room?”

“That’s where I’m headed next, just wanted to know if you’d seen him.” She says before heading towards his room. She knocks on the door but there’s no answer.

“Steve? It’s me (Y/N). Can I come in?” No answer. She twists the doorknob and steps into his room. She can hear the shower on so she walks to the door and knocks again. “Hey Steve? Are you okay in there?” she asks. Still, she receives no answer and she starts to get a little worried, especially with how he was feeling after the mission he just returned from. “Steve? C’mon. I’m a little worried. Can you just tell me if you’re okay?”

Still, there’s no answer. Her heart is pounding at this point. He’s never been like this. “I’m coming in okay?” she says, and then opens the door. It’s freezing in the bathroom. It sends a shiver up her spine. She takes a quick peek at the shower door and she can see that Steve’s sitting on the shower floor.

“Steve?” she asks, knowing good and well he’d be able to hear her now. She can hear him mumbling under his breath but can’t make out the words over the sound of the water running. At this point, him not answering her is worrying her sick. She doesn’t want to intrude on his privacy, but she’s too concerned for his well being to care. If he has a problem with it, they can work it out later. She opens the frosted shower door.

And her heart breaks.

Steve’s sitting with his head between his legs, rocking back and forth. He’s whispering to himself something in between his greatest fears and straight nonsense. She’s never seen him like this, but then a stray drop of water lands on her arm, and she understands.

It’s the cold water.

She immediately shuts it off but Steve doesn’t seem to register the change in temperature on his skin. (Y/N) pulls a towel off of the rack and drapes it over his lap before carefully and slowly unfolding him from over himself. She straightens out his legs first, and then loosens his death grip from his hair. His skin is angry from the cold water. He sags his head and slouches his shoulders in defeat, still mumbling about how scared he is. It makes (Y/N) tear up.

She knows she’s not strong enough to lift him to get him out of the shower, so instead she sits in between his thighs, and wraps her arms and legs around him and presses his head into the crook of her neck. He must have registered her warmth because he stops mumbling and he just cries into her shoulder.

It’s a long time before her body heat provides him enough comfort to bring him back to her. He knows who’s sitting with him even though he can’t see her face. He returns her embrace lightly at first, but minute by minute, his grip around her grows tighter until he’s practically squeezing the breath out of her.

“I’m sorry.” Is the first thing he says to her.

“Why?” she asks him, not loosening her grip on him.

“You didn’t need to see that.”

“Steve…don’t ever apologize for needing some support. Just because you’re Captain America doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to be afraid. Don’t apologize, because I’d sit here all night if you needed me to.”

He feels more tears fall from his eyes. “Thank you.” Is all he can think to say.

She wiggles out of his grip and stands up, her butt wet from the shower floor.

“C’mon,” she holds out a hand to help him stand up. “get dressed. I’m gonna go grab my fluffiest blanket and stuff you in it like a sushi roll and then we’re gonna watch movies and eat popcorn until we fall asleep.” She makes her way out of the bathroom to give him his privacy back.

He quickly ties a towel around his waist and calls out to her, “wait!”

She stops and looks at him with a sweet smile waiting for him to continue.

_Tell her you love her…this is your chance,_ Steve thinks to himself.

“I love yo—your brownies that you make for us…can we make some tonight?”

“Sure! I’ll go start. Meet you in the kitchen.” She says, skipping away.

_One day. One day you’ll know how deep underwater I was before you pulled me out._


End file.
